Spain Archives - Page 4 of 7

Catalonia Mulls Independence from Debt-Ridden Spain

Catalans are expected to vote pro-independence parties into power this Sunday, giving them legitimacy to hold an independence referendum in two to three years time. Catalonia, in northern Spain, has an economy equivalent to the size of Portugal, believes it would be financially better off without the rest of Spain.

The secessionist threat is a major problem for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who is trying to keep Spain in the eurozone and avoid an international bailout, despite a ravaging recession that has led to record levels of unemployment.

Spain To Dangle Automatic Residency Carrot For Foreign Homebuyers

The Spanish government plans to offer automatic residency permits to any foreigner who buys a house priced at more than 160,000 euros ($203,845), reported the Associated Press, in an effort to sell off hundreds of thousands of unsold property left over from the nation’s 2008 real estate bubble.

Spain, Portugal Seek Help From Former Latin America Colonies

Leaders of Spain and Portugal over the weekend appealed to their former Latin Americans colonies, such as Mexico and Brazil, for investments and economic help – in a historic role reversal, highlighting the gradual shift of power from the developed to developing world.

Defiant Spanish PM Confident Of Economic Growth By 2014

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Tuesday once again ruled out possibility of his government requesting a bailout from the ECB this year at least; and said that his country can return to economic growth by 2014 as long as it stuck to a policy of fiscal austerity.

“This has been a bad year, but we have laid the basis for the recovery,” the Prime Minister said in an interview with radio station Cadena Cope as cited by Xinhua.

Red Cross Launches First Ever Spain Crisis Fund to Feed Vulnerable

The Spanish Red Cross has made a public appeal for donations as it struggles to cope with the country’s growing pool of vulnerable people.

The first campaign of its kind, the Red Cross in Spain is raising funds to help people in the country worst affected by the economic crisis.

Spain Resists ECB Bailout Despite Draghi’s Urgings

Spain’s Economy Minister Luis de Guindos has insisted that his nation “doesn’t need a bailout” despite calls from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi to take up a bond purchase plan.

Speaking during a lecture at the London School of Economics on Thursday, de Guindos said that the Spanish government was already carrying out the policies that the ECB would demand in return for buying its bonds; while expressing confidence that the country could attract enough investors on its own to take up the nation’s debt.

Spain To Borrow $267 Billion In 2013 Amid Bank Bailout Fears

The Spanish government will borrow up to 207.2 billion euros ($266.5 billion) next year in order to cover the cost of bailing out its banks, power system and other eurozone partners, said its Budget Ministry on Sunday, after a stress test revealed last week that the banking industry could require as much as 59.3 billion euros in additional capital in order to survive.

Spain’s Most Indebted Region Gambles On Casino Complex To Reinvigorate Economy

The Spanish region of Catalonia, with an estimated debt of around 42 billion euros ($53 billion), has announced plans to build a 4.8 billion euro ($6 billion) casino and entertainment complex in its capital of Barcelona, which the local government hopes will generate over 20,000 jobs for the region.

Spain Sets Up ‘Bad Bank’ To Absorb Toxic Property Assets

Spain’s government has approved the creation of a so-called “bad bank” that will take over most of the nation’s worst property assets and defaulted loans, reported Reuters over the weekend, in an effort to secure some much-needed eurozone bailout money for the nation’s loss-making banks and to reform a banking industry devastated by a property crash.

Spain Mulls EFSF & ECB Bond Market Intervention

Faced with crippling debt financing costs, Spain is allegedly in talks with the eurozone over conditions for an international bailout aimed at lowering its sovereign yields. However, formal announcements are not expected to surface until mid-September.